It took Eero a little while until he got to the forge. He had just too many things to carry and no more spare limbs for them. He stopped a few times, trying to readjust the way he was holding the items several times, but really to no avail. Eventually, he resorted to dropping the branch and some other items and taking them ahead. Then he walked back and took the remaining items and took them a little further. Rinse and repeat. It was quite exhausting, but he managed to get the items into the forge. Leona was already there. Technically not already, since it took Eero forever to get there. The boy half-carried and half-dragged the items into the forge area.

The forge itself was already going. It seemed that Leona wasted no time in creating her weapon and Eero had to pick up the pace himself. The boy set down the items on of the metal tables and looked around for a container long enough for the staff. It had to be fairly long, seeing as the staff would be longer than Eero was tall. He found a couple of vertical tubs, but those were for quenching metal during the smithing process, so he would rather avoid using those. They weren't tall enough, anyway. After a bit of rummaging through some metal components, Eero came across a rather long-looking, narrow metal container without a lid. "This'll do." He would mumble to himself and carry it back to the table he had his items set up at. The heat from the forge was steadily raising te temperature, making Eero take off his dirty jacket. Not that his t-shirt was any better, really. The boy would run a hand across his forehead and yawn. He decided that he would leave his guildmate to her own weapon creation, unless she called out for his help.

Near the table Eero had chosen, there was a bunch of tools on the wall. Among them, he spotted a knife, that looked suitable for the task he had in mind. The boy would reach for the knife, taking it off the wall. He briefly inspected it and set it down on the table. The table was a mess, but Eero couldn't be bothered to make it more organised. The boy would swiftly take out the vine out of his bag and cut it into smaller pieces. /"No mistakes allowed."/ He thought as he placed the pieces into the mortar. The vine didn't have any odor to it. Not until Eero started mashing it down with the pestle. Then it smelled pretty bad. The smell was subtle, but extremely uncomfortable and disgusting. Eero tried to hold his breath during the process, though ultimately he just had to endure it. When the boy thought that the vine was mashed enough, he opened the bottle-jug container that was filled with the distilled water. He would then put the mashed vine into it, give it a little stir with the pestle and close it back up. Eero figured that the water would be infused with the vine more or better if he let it sit for a bit, while he took care of the staff itself. The boy would then take the knife into his right hand and sit down on the floor. It was about time he started carving the branch into some staff-like shape. With a little sigh he grabbed the branch and started shaving off the outer bark, slowly revealing the dark wood that was below it.

Leona had been reading the book very carefully. It turned out that the length of vine she had requested of Eero was just enough to give the weapon a blade-extending property. The emphasis was on just enough. If she wanted to give it the ability to serve as a grappling device, she would have needed a full length of vine. Unless Eero specifically requested it, Leona was not going back into Spooky Forest... not today, anyway.

A female staff member brought in the mortar and pestle she had forgotten all about. She thanked them for helping her through that oversight. A male staff member also brought in some metal that had been sitting around for awhile. It had been sold to one of the staff at a discount by a weapons dealer looking to dispose of some old swords and daggers that he could not sell. As it turned out, the weapons dealer and staff member were half-brothers.

Thanks to that series of events, Leona had everything she needed. Everything except a fully heated forge. The muscular young man who was assisting her with the forge turned to look at her. He was fully dressed in an apron, rolled-up sleeves that showed numerous scars on his arms, and thick gloves needed for protection. He even wore a welding mask.

"Forge's halfway ready." He said laconically.

"Great. Thanks." Leona thanked him. She then turned back to the book and began reading about nightshade. The book stated that using nightshade could allow a weapon to deal damage against Plant-based summons and creatures. That trait complemented the machete's utility role of clearing a path through thick brush. In combat the machete could do great harm to Plant-based summons and creatures.

That was a benefit that could not be overlooked. Her eyes then shifted to the section describing the invisibility effect she had originally intended to use. If she had wanted the invisibility effect, she would have had to harvest two dozen flowers and acquire one diamond for use in the formula. Leona blinked. Diamonds were precious and sold at very high prices. Purchasing just one diamond would have cost more Jewels than she had.

It was a blessing in disguise that she had not opted to pursue that path. A mistake or failure could have been very expensive. The path she had in front of her was doable. It would not allow her to sneak around with ease, but it would give her the element of surprise in a fight. She could make it work.

Leona placed a nightshade flower into the mortar. She began using the pestle to grind the flower down and release its poisonous juice. The pale purple liquid had a sweet smell that was comparable to grape juice. Leona had to be very careful with it. If she accidentally ingested any of it, chances were high that she would become violently ill.

Next she carefully poured the liquid into a beaker, which she quickly capped with a cork. she had crushed one flower. Now eleven more remained. Hopefully that task would be finished by the time the forge was ready for use. She had repeated the process with another flower... the task was tedious but necessary to get the results she wanted, so she would keep at it.

The vine was in the distilled water, doing its thing while colouring the water a very dark teal. The boy was sitting cross-legged on the floor, as he shaved off the unneccessary bark off of the branch. Soon enough he uncovered the dark wood underneath. It had subtle purple veins going through it. It looked strangely beautiful, when Eero didn't think about where he got it from. It took him some time to shave off all of the bark that surrounded the wood he desired. The ends of the branch still needed some touch-ups, though. One end was the natural end of the branch, the other was the one that was singed. That was the side that was most definitely attached to the tree itself. Eero felt quite bad and guilty about the way his other self acquired the branch, but there was nothing he could really do about it.

The ends of the branch didn't go down without a fight, but Eero managed to cut them off. The boy would then stand up, as a ton of wood and bark shavings fell off of his jeans, onto the floor. He dusted off the rest of the shavings off of his jeans and set down the knife and the polished branch. Nearby he spotted a broom, so he promptly walked over, grabbed it and sweeped all of the trash on the floor onto one pile to the side. He set the brrom against the table, since he would need it in a little bit again. Eero lifted the staff-looking branch and held it beside himself, with one end on the floor. It was slightly taller than him. /"That should give me the reach I need."/ He thought as he inspected his work. With a nod he set it back down and started looking for sandpaper. It was about time he smoothed down the surface and the ends of the staff to make it look proper. In a nearby tool drawer set he found several different sandpapers, of different granulations. Eero decided to take a rougher one and a lot smoother one with him. Soon enough, he evenly shaped out the staff with tlhe rough sandpaper and then polished it with the smoother sandpaper. The boy then sweeped the floor again, to keep the working environment clean. Eero took a look at the vine infusion. The water looked quite murky, but it probably could use a bit more time. While decorative carving was probably left for last, Eero wanted to make sure that he didn't mess with the staff that was infused with the essence of the vine. If he cut deep by mistake, he could just ruin all of the work he had done up until then.

The boy would sit down on the floor once more and carve simple swirls into the bo staff. He decided to make it so that they highlighted the natural purple veins inside the wood. It didn't take him too long to carve out what he wanted. He meant for it to be simple, afterall. Eero was no artist, that was the best he dared to do. The boy would stand up and sweep the floor for the third time. He would then inspect it again. Eero was quite satisfied with his work, so far. Now it was only matter of the vine infused water. /"Speaking of which.."/ He thought as he looked at the jug of the distilled water. The water was really dark, almost matching the colour of the vine insides. Eero thought that the colour was satisfactory enough and decided to prepare the long container. He gave it a quick wipe with a wet rag he found nearby and dunked it in a sink that was near the forge. The heat coming from it was quite intense, for Eero's liking. The boy then carefully poured the liquid of the jug, into the long container. He hoped that he had enough to dunk the bo staff into it and have it all covered. Eero would put aside the empty jug and then carefully lower the carved bo staff into the container. There was just enough of the liquid to cover it up. "Let's hope this works." The boy would mumble, as he slowly dragged the container to the side, so that nobody would trip over it. Then it was time to clean up. He cleaned the jug, pestle and mortar and returned the tools he had borrowed from the forge. Eero also threw away the trash that he had swept up previously. He would stretch his back. The hard part of the work was done. Now he only had to wait for the wood to take in the essence. It was probably high time he checked up on his guildmate, aswell. Eero would cautiously walk over to the actual forge part of the forge, as he didn't want to disturb any work in progress. "Hey, Leona! How is your work going along? I am pretty much done with mine." The boy would call out to his guildmate.

Leona had finally finished grinding down the last of her nightshade flowers. Now she had to get the vine ready for use. She placed it in a large tub of distilled water and let the water do its thing. The water looked normal for a moment but soon began to turn teal. Just then another development occurred.

"Forge's ready." The young man announced tersely. He was not much for conversation. He had kept quiet all through the preparation process, not even making a noise when he almost burned his bare arm. He had not even given his name to Leona. As quiet as he was, the staff member was still a great help.

"Thanks." Leona said to him as he walked away. She turned her attention to the glowing forge. It was ready for use. However, she currently had her hands full with the preparation of the ingredients. Eero's call to her was timely.

"The forge's ready but I'm still busy preparing the vine. Do you know how to run a forge?" Leona asked as she corked the last of the nightshade extract. She had just put the beaker down when she turned around and the blacksmith was standing right behind her. The blonde screamed and almost knocked the tube of extract off the table.

"Sorry. Take this." He said while holding out a book with a brown leather cover. It was a medium-sized rectangular book that showed signs of wear. On the cover was the title The Blacksmith's Primer.

"Thanks." Leona said as she got over the shock of his unexpected appearance. She was interested in the contents of the book. While it was no substitute for the hands-on learning of an apprenticeship like Leonidas had back home, any instructional material was a good place to start. She would not look a gift horse in the mouth. She needed to expand her skill set beyond "beating up people" and "getting beat up."

"You're just in time, Eero. I need some help working the forge in order to finish my weapon. do you mind lending a hand?" Leona asked him. It was not likely that Eero was a skilled blacksmith, but Leona was even less skilled than he was. Right now she would take any help that she could get. This would be the second time today that Eero helped her out of a tight spot.

"If you'll help with the forge, I'll handle adding the ingredients." Leona added. She put the book down in a safe place and examined the vine. When she gently brought it out of the tub, it was perfectly limp. It was ready for use.

The boy came closer, when his guildmate asked him if he was proficient in running a forge. The answer was simple - not at all. He used to work at an inn, not blacksmith's shop. But if there was something he could help with, he would do it. The Guild's staff made a surprise appearance. He handed Leona a book. Eero could only guess that it was a book about blacksmithing techniques and such. The boy thought that Leona looked like somebody who was at least somewhat familiar with forging weapons.

His guildmate then explicitely asked for his help with the forge. She wanted Eero to help with the forge, while she tended to the ingredients and took out the piece of the vine that he gave her. The boy was unsure of the exact effects that Leona wished for her weapon to have with the ingredients she possessed. He was intrigued, to say the least. "Of course I'll help out." Eero would agree to help and walk towards the forge, taking a spare apron that was nearby and putting it on. "But I'm no blacksmith, mind you." He would give Leona a fair warning and pick up a metal rod with which he stirred the scalding hot coal and other fuel that was already inside the forge, letting out a few sparks out, as the air helped to keep the flames going. "As long as you give me intructions, I should be able to follow them well enough, though. I think." The boy would continue. He wanted to help out his guildmate out, but on the other hand, he also didn't want to ruin her weapon. They could always try forging it again, but if the weapon would already have the ingredients fused into it, then failure at that point would create a great problem. "What do you need me to do?" Eero would ask Leona for further instructions. It was her weapon, afterall. He wouldn't do anything that would go against what she desired her weapon to be.

NOTES

Repaying my debt for saving my life. Though it's not even close to being equivalent. -Eero

"If you'd get the metal melted down, that'd be a big help." Leona instructed Eero. Eero obligingly gathered roughly half the old weaponry brought into the room and gently placed it in a smelting furnace. While that was melting down, Leona would attempt to get the nightshade extract and vine ready for use. She would only have one shot at this.

Leona carefully mixed the nightshade extract with some distilled water, gently adding it through use of a medicine dropper. She needed to dilute it to avoid making a poisoned blade. If she diluted it too much, it would not have an anti-plant property. That was an effect Leona wanted it to have. After adding the extract until the water turned lavender, it was ready.

Now for the vine. Leona gently lifted it out of the water and placed it into a second tub of distilled water. She then used a medicine dropper to carefully add the extract. According to the book, the mixture was supposed to be added until the vine turned jet black. Leona slowly kept adding the extract, watching the vine's color like a hawk.

She kept going until half the extract had been used. The vine was starting to darken. Perfect.

"The vine's almost ready." Leona informed Eero. Just a little more and it would be ready. Leona counted the drops. One, two, three, four... after eight drops hit the water the vine was solid black. It was time to quit.

"The vine's ready now. How's the metal looking?" Leona asked her helper. His aid was invaluable. Even if he was not a master blacksmith, simply having his help allowed her to focus on preparing the ingredients, which was arguably the most important part of weapon creation. Now she had to take the vine out of the water and let it dry. Carefully lifting it out of the solution, Leona placed the blackened vine on a wooden block and waited for the metal to be ready.

Eero did as Leona instructed and was attempting to melt down some of the old weapons he found laying about. He took a pair of heavy tongs that were near the forge and grabbed onto the melting metal. There was a vat of water and a vat of oil to quench the scalding metal. While he was no blacksmith, he had seen a blacksmith smith a blade before. Eero wasn't familiar with any techniques or procedures, but he remembered little tidbits. The boy decided to take out the melting metal with the tongs and place the half-melted clump onto an anvil. He would grab a hammer that was placed against the small pedestal upon which the anvil was placed. Eero made sure that the clump of metal and his hands were steady and swung the hammer against it. It made a lound clang and some sparks flew out. His borrowed apron protected him against those, though. Eero swung a few more times, giving the melted metal a bit more defined shape. It was very much far from a blade, but he managed to stretch it into a bit of length. He also managed to create a sort of a handle for the metal clump, so that it would be easier to interact with it inside the forge and on the anvil. Back into the flames the metal went, however, as its temperature lowered. Eero didn't want to crack the metal, so he had to keep it properly within high temperatures.

The heat coming from the forge was getting quite intense. Eero's fringe stuck to his forehead before of the sweat that was rolling down his face. "Should've grabbed some protective gear for my face." The boy would mumble to himself as he pulled out the metal clump again. He would swing the hammer a few more times and place it back into the forge to heat up. /"My arms feel sore already./" His scholarly arms were definitely not built for smithing duty. Since he was touching rather old tools and such, Eero's hands were dirty. But he didn't notice that, so when he wiped his forehead his hand left a black smear behind it, without Eero realising.

The boy wasn't paying attention to what his guildmate was doing, but she said that she was going to prepare the ingredients, so he figured that she did just that. Soon after Leona appeared, asking about the metal, saying that the vine was ready. Leona placed the very darkened vine upon a wooden block. "The metal is ready when you are." Eero would reply and take the metal out of the flames and placed it on the anvil. "I'm not sure if I should have, but I took the liberty of shaping the melted metal into a vaguely bladed shape." He would say, as he inspected the both sides of the shaped metal. "It's all yours." The boy would say take off his apron and hand it to Leona. "It's your weapon, afterall. I will still help out, of course." He would add. Two sets of hands were better than one.

"You're a lifesaver, Eero!" Leona enthusiastically thanked him. He had just saved her a lot of time and effort by already shaping the blade. Now she had to figure out how to apply the vine. She took a quick glance at the book that had been her guide so far. It read that she needed to apply the vine to the blade while it was still hot, but not right away.

"OK, Eero. I'm supposed to apply the vine to the blade while it's still hot. But not yet. First I need to finish making the edge." Leona stated as she took off her Argent Gloves and put on the heat-resistant blacksmith gloves. She then carefully took the grip of the weapon into her gloved hand and took up the hammer. Leona carefully worked with the metal, pounding it into a sharp edge that was ideal for cutting. After finishing one side, she repeated the process with the other side.

"OK, the edge is finished. Now I need to cool it down. Look out, Eero. It's gonna get steamy." Leona warned him before dipping it into the water to cool it down. The metal emitted a sharp HISS as it cooled. Now was the time to apply the vine. Leona set it on the anvil, making certain it did not fall off and burn her or Eero. Leona used both hands to carry the vine to the blade, then carefully stretched it out and made sure that the vine was at its full length.

Leona gently laid it down and held her nose as a sharp stench began to fill the air. To her surprise, the vine began to melt onto the blade, staining it solid black. Only the edge remained shiny. Leona remained silent. Was this supposed to happen?

Leona left it on the anvil as she quickly consulted the book. She looked desperately, hoping that she just did not waste the whole trip to Spooky Forest and Eero's vine. After some frantic searching, she finally found what she was after. What had happened was supposed to have happened.

The blonde breathed a sigh of relief. The whole day had not been wasted after all. That lifted a burden off of her shoulders. Now to finish letting the blade cool. She dipped the blackened blade into the water again, letting it finish cooling down.

"We did it, Eero. We did it. Except for creating the grip and smoothing out the edge with a grindstone, we're finished. Thanks Eero. Thanks for everything." Leona thanked her guildmate.

Eero was glad that his prep work for Leona was helpful. She explained how she was supposed to use the vine he had given her and got to work. His guildmate put on gloves and started to give the metal more defined shape and edge. Leona then worked away on the metal and after she felt satisfied she queched it in water. Eero jumped aside when she did so, to avoid the water that spashed out because of the reaction. After that she set it on the anvil and placed the vine she had prepared earlier on it. It smelled just as bad as when Eero smushed his piece of the vine, maybe even more because of the nightshade. After a moment the vine dissolved and stained the blade black. Leona didn't too sure about what was happening, but after she consulted a nearby book she looked ecstatic. His guildmate gave the blade a finishing quench in the water and thanked him for his help. "Anytime, Leona. That's what guildmates do." The boy would say with a smile. "You finish polishing and decorating your blade and I will check up on my bo. I will see you later." Eero would wave to his guildmate and go over to where he had left this staff to marinate.

The container was exactly where he had left it, though it had a bit of liquid missing. Eero presumed that the wood absorbed a bit of it. The boy grabbed a nearby rag, to wipe the staff, when he would take it out. Carefully, he lifted the bo staff out of the metal container, liquid dripping from it. The boy swiftly wiped off the excess liquid and lifted up the staff. Since it was already dark before, it didn't look any different. The swirls that Eero carved in beforehand were thankfully intact. The boy swung the staff and he noticed it extend a little bit for a moment. "Seems like that was a success." He would mumble to himself. Soon after, faint, teal vines appeared from the staff and then disappeared. "Double success." He would say, happy with the results. The strength of the effects was still questionable, but the fact that his theory worked was an immense push forward for Eero. The boy would to himself and cleaned the metal container and the rest of the workplace that he had used. He was sure that he would sleep well that night.